ANDY HALKO

Andy Halko was not just another young, overzealous entrepreneur whose goal was to start his own company after graduating college.

The John Carroll alumnus already had about a half-dozen years of applicable work experience before he set out to launch his own marketing firm in the summer of 2002, after graduation.

“A friend and I started the business out of a bedroom in a house in Parma,” said Mr. Halko, CEO of Cleveland-based Insivia, which now calls home a 5,800-square-foot space on the West Bank of Cleveland's Flats.

Mr. Halko, 31, applied the skills he honed working for a computer technology company throughout high school and college on website designs, network installations and the like toward his own enterprise, which at the time provided various electronic and print marketing services.

“At first we were on the "family and friends' model,” Mr. Halko said. “And I joined every local networking organization I could.”

The 14-employee agency now serves 30 to 40 active clients, mostly located throughout Northeast Ohio but also scattered across the globe as well. Mr. Halko said as of August the agency's revenue had grown 50% over last year.

“We want to continue this growth without compromising the quality of our services,” Mr. Halko said. “We're looking to hire more employees.”

The firm's offerings have progressed, too, originating from broad-brush electronic campaigns such as email marketing to more targeted, integrated digital services, including search engine optimization, video and social media.

“The biggest trend I see looking forward is location awareness,” he said. “Your phone, TV and refrigerator will be working together. If you're out of a bottle of ketchup, an ad will appear on your refrigerator alerting you.

“Marketing will be very integrated into our lives,” Mr. Halko said.

He takes the accelerating pace of the marketing world evolution in stride.

“The business is always transforming, and you have to adapt,” Mr. Halko said. “I would describe our approach as rebuilding an airplane in mid-air. We're in midflight, but we have to keep moving.”

Chris Schmitt, Insivia's chief operating officer and general counsel, said Mr. Halko's passion propels both the business and its employees.

“With him, there's a "boulder rolling down the hill' aspect — fall or get out of the way,” Mr. Schmitt said. “It's contagious.”